Wheely Willy

Wheely Willy

Wheely Willy (born circa 1991) is a paraplegic chihuahua on wheels from Long Beach, California who has become a celebrity as the subject of two bestselling children's books. He makes frequent public appearances promoting mutual understanding among those with and without physical disability. Following appearances on the Animal Planet television network, he has been popularly dubbed Wheely Willy.

Background

Willy was found abandoned in a cardboard box with spinal injuries and a cut throat.Taken in by a veterinary hospital and treated, Willy stayed there for a year unadopted.Learning that the dog would be euthanised if not adopted, pet groomer Deborah Turner decided to bring him home.

Initially, the two pound (one kilogram) Willy needed to be carried everywhere, but Turner made several attempts to allow the dog to move autonomously.She tried attaching large helium-filled balloons to the dog's hindquarters and then placing him on a skateboard, with little success.Ultimately, an advertisement for K-9 Carts, a type of wheelchair designed for canine applications, came to her attention.Willy adapted to this mode of transportation in short order; curiosity from Turner's customers and acquaintances led to local news coverage and steadily increased to international notability.

Willy has made visits internationally, most often to hospitals, but he has also participated in such events as the Cystic Fibrosis Fun Walk and the Los Angeles Marathon. He has made several appearances on television talk shows and news programs.

The dog's tenacity and good nature are frequently cited as an inspiration by people who have encountered him.

Bibliography

*Deborah Turner, Diana Mohler, authors; Rhonda McHugh, illustrator (1998). "How Willy got his Wheels". ISBN 0-944875-54-8
*Deborah Turner, Diana Mohler, authors; Sue Ehrends, illustrator (2003). "How Willy Got His Wings: The Further Adventures of Wheely Willy". ISBN 0-944875-88-2
*Colleen Needles, Kit Carlson, Kim Levin (2000). "Working Dogs: Tales from Animal Planet's K-9 to 5 World". ISBN 1-56331-843-1

External links

* [http://www.wheelywilly.com/ Wheely Willy and Friends] official web site
* [http://www.barkandsmile.com/feature2.html Creature Feature: Wheely Willy] article about Willy and his television appearances
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3859967.stm US chihuahua wows Japanese crowds] BBC News article about Willy's visit to Japan


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Willy — Willy, Willie or Willies may refer to: * A diminutive form of William (name) * A slang term, often used by children, for the penis * Boxcar Willie (1931–1999), the American country music singer * Willys (pronounced willis ), the brand name used… …   Wikipedia

  • List of dogs — The American army dog Sergeant Stubby (ca 1916 1926) List of dogs is an annotated list of real dogs. See also the list of fictional dogs, List of dog breeds and List of dog types. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Long Beach, California — The following notable people were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Long Beach, California. Partial list of famous people born in Long Beach*Chris Andersen: current NBA player *David Bacani, baseball player… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Dexter's Laboratory episodes — Dexter s Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. Initially debuting in 1994 as a series of shorts on World Premiere Toons, the show was picked up the following year for a full series …   Wikipedia

  • Rolie Polie Olie — Infobox Television show name = Rolie Polie Olie caption = genre = creator = William Joyce developer = presenter = starring = voices = narrated = theme music composer = opentheme = endtheme = country = CAN language = English num seasons = 6 num… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”